Friends of Ardu Cubillo say she sensed something was wrong well before learning on TikTok about AFL player Kysaiah Pickett’s alleged secret relationship with a younger woman.
Fresh claims surrounding “Kozzy” and the Sydney-based model have intensified scrutiny of the Melbourne Demons forward, with suggestions he may have been involved with both women at the same time.
In February, the younger woman travelled to Hamilton Island and shared videos from the getaway that are still visible on her Instagram account. During that same period, Pickett allegedly told Cubillo — the mother of his one-year-old daughter — that he was heading away on a “boys’ trip”.
Those close to Cubillo say her doubts began to sharpen around then, even as Pickett reportedly insisted the woman was “just a friend”.
The situation reportedly came to a head in March, when the younger woman contacted Cubillo through TikTok and allegedly claimed: “He’s constantly told me he’s in love with me and wants to get back together once he sorts out his relationship.”
‘[It] made me feel so wrong and guilty… I wanted to tell you… I don’t have any excuse, I saw him in Hamilton and he told me you weren’t together.’
Cubillo is from a well-known Filipino-Indigenous Darwin family prominent in business, the arts and community life.
Pickett belongs to an Indigenous football dynasty that has produced several AFL greats and is the son of comedian Kevin Kropinyeri.
Kysaiah Pickett of the Demons (left) and Ardu Cubillo pose for a photo during the 2025 Brownlow Medal ceremony
The couple’s five-year relationship unravelled in March when a younger woman contacted Cubillo on TikTok to tell her she’d been seeing Pickett at the same time
In TikTok messages that left Cubillo reeling, the young model claimed she had spent time with Pickett on Hamilton Island the previous month and alleged: ‘He’s constantly told me he’s in love with me and wants to get back together once he sorts out his relationship’
The model, who is friends with members of Pickett’s immediate family and connected to them on Instagram, also comes from a prominent Indigenous sporting family that has produced an AFL player.
She told Cubillo that Pickett had sent Valentine’s Day flowers and a card to her Sydney home after she returned from Hamilton Island. The woman claimed they had first dated in 2021 and that he had continued pursuing her ever since.
In response, Cubillo posted on TikTok a photo of flowers she had also received on Valentine’s Day, writing: ‘her and I both. His working overtime fr [for real]’.
The model told Cubillo, ‘We’ve both been fed lies for years and I’m over it,’ prompting Cubillo to reply: ‘Come clean to me. Everything. Just tell me everything.’
The woman then claimed: ‘I told him countless times not to contact me. He’s even had to be locked on TikTok because of it. Last week I told him he’s been lying the whole time.’
Friends say Cubillo was devastated to discover that the woman Pickett had dismissed as ‘just a close friend’ allegedly meant far more to him.
According to those close to Cubillo, she raised the issue with the Melbourne Demons forward while the pair were out shopping and revealed she knew about the other woman. Pickett allegedly responded: ‘She’s a liar’.
Friends say Cubillo did not hesitate. She allegedly ‘ran to the car with her daughter, jumped in, went home, packed their bags, jumped on a plane and flew to Darwin’.
The couple share a daughter
Cubillo fled the home she shared with Pickett and their daughter, packing her bags and flying to Darwin after a young model claimed she had also been dating the AFL star
Cubillo is rebuilding her life in Darwin with the help of family and friends
Ardu Cubillo spent five years with AFL star Kysaiah Pickett, building a life together and having a child. She was blindsided in March to discover he had another girlfriend and has now gone public on TikTok
Ardu Cubillo and her daughter are now reportedly surrounded by family in Darwin as they begin ‘rebuilding their lives from complete scratch’.
Pickett has travelled to Darwin on multiple occasions to see his daughter, after his father helped establish a co-parenting arrangement.
In a bid to reclaim ‘her truth’, Cubillo shared messages exchanged with the other woman and described the ordeal as ‘the most inhumane experience of my life’.
Among the posts was a photo of a cake bearing the message: ‘You can’t have ur cake and eat it too’.
The messages and social media posts suggested Cubillo believed Pickett’s alleged involvement with the model spanned much, if not all, of their relationship. In one anguished post she wrote: ‘5 years of my life completely stolen from me’.
The Daily Mail has contacted the model for comment regarding the allegations surrounding her relationship with Pickett.